The redevelopers of the Union Hotel want to make the building on the right a part of the Union Hotel.Photo by Rick Epstein

FLEMINGTON — A redevelopment proposal for the Union Hotel that “oozes vision” and shows “capability” was chosen by Borough Council on Monday, Nov. 26. This assessment was made by Councilman Brian Swingle, but similar enthusiasm was expressed by the mayor and all the other council members.

Flemington Union Hotel LLC was chosen to revive the Union Hotel as a 50- to 55-room hotel that would expand into the building next door at 78 Main St. The plan calls for adding a ballroom on the back and establishing an elegant steakhouse and a casual pub on the ground floor.

The LLC’s principals are Matt McPherson and Liam Burns, but Burns said that the rest of their development team will also invest in the project. They are financial expert Mike Driscoll, attorney John Lanza, architect Chris Pickell and hotel expert Mike Taylor.

The hotel enjoyed international prominence in 1935 when it swarmed with journalists covering the Lindbergh trial, which took place across the street in the old courthouse.

Mayor Erica Edwards and Councilmen Phil Greiner and Phil Velella were on the subcommittee that interviewed representatives of the four outfits that submitted proposals. They kept the other council members apprised of their findings as they went along, leading to their discussion and decision on Monday night.

Matt McPherson and Liam Burns answer questions about their plans for the Union Hotel.Photo by Rick Epstein

The designation is conditional. McPherson and Burns have 90 days from Nov. 26 to buy the hotel, acquire a liquor license and negotiate a redevelopment agreement with the borough, Edwards said.

Velella warned, “We take these contingencies very seriously. That didn’t happen last time around,” referring to Cirquell LLC, which was chosen in 2011 to redevelop the hotel but was eventually de-designated for failing to buy the hotel in a timely way.

Burns announced that the LLC has contracts to buy the hotel and Bensi Flemington LLC, including its liquor license. Bensi is an Italian restaurant among the Shoppes at Flemington. Bensi had purchased the liquor license after the hotel closed in 2008. At the time, Borough Council fought unsuccessfully to keep the license from leaving the downtown area.

Burns said he does not yet have a contract to buy 78 Main St., but indicated it’s in the works. Later, in response to a question from resident Robert Shore, he said the project could be amended to work without 78 Main.

Velella said he likes the fact that McPherson and Burns had already spent “six figures” on this project, and the mayor said “the concept and the commitment are right.” Several residents also spoke in support of McPherson and Burns.

Shore asked what the project would cost, and Burns estimated it would be $14 million to $15 million, but additional expense could be incurred in the reconstruction of the old hotel.

Resident Andy Cohen asked for the timeline. Although unwilling to make promises, Burns said that for a project like this, the planning phase could take six months to a year, and that the construction could take two to three years. So he almost predicted, but did not promise, that in two-and-a-half to four years, a visitor could eat a steak and spend the night in the Main Street landmark — something that hadn’t been done there since the 1950s.

A study by the Strategic Advisory Group had indicated that the borough might have to sweeten the hotel deal to attract investors, citing a $500,000 subsidy as one such enticement. Burns said to resident Lois Stewart, “We don’t anticipate making that request.”

Stewart asked if tax abatements would be necessary, and the mayor said, “Those details have not been negotiated and discussed yet,” and would be addressed when the redevelopment agreement is crafted.

But later Shore told council it had better be ready to give this redeveloper more support than it had given Cirquell. “I think there needs to be an investment by the town,” he said.

Stewart admonished him, saying, “I want that hotel there, and I like Matt McPherson, and I hope he does a bang-up job. But I don’t want to pay for it.”